I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Linkee-poo Sunday Jan 30

Howard Hesseman, and so it goes.

"People across the Northeast U.S. are spending Sunday digging out from the massive storm that swept across the region beginning on Friday, dropping snow from the Carolinas to Maine."

"Ubisoft’s official foray into the world of Non-Fungible Tokens has not had the best start; the announcement was trashed by fans, and the company’s 'garbage' NFTs were largely ignored upon release. In a new interview with Australian site Finder, though, Ubisoft say the blame for this lies with us, not them." Ah, blame the users. It's a winning strategy. (Grokked from Mur Lafferty)

"When a series of deep pits were discovered near the world heritage site of Stonehenge last year, archaeologists excitedly described it as the largest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain – only for some colleagues to dismiss the pits as mere natural features." (Grokked from Deborah Beale)

"Microglia are amoeba-like cells that scour the brain for injuries and invaders. They help clear dead or impaired brain cells and literally gobble up invading microbes. Without them, we'd be in trouble… In a normal brain, a protein called beta-amyloid is cleared away through our lymphatic system by microglia as molecular junk… But sometimes it builds up. Certain gene mutations are one culprit in this toxic accumulation. Traumatic brain injury is another, and, perhaps, impaired microglial function." Chasing the Alzheimer cause.

About that whole, "Maybe Africa has reached 'herd immunity'" thread… "Of course, whether Africa is truly now in a less dangerous position depends on a "key question," says Emory University biologist Rustom Antia. 'How long does the immunity that protects us from getting ill last?' Antia has been studying what would need to happen for the coronavirus to become endemic."

"Omicron has filled up U.S. hospitals with more COVID-19 patients than any other surge of the pandemic. But there's been a shift in how the illness behaves since the days of delta, with many cases, even hospitalized ones, milder and quicker to treat… As with earlier variants, COVID-19 can still be a dangerous, unforgiving disease for patients who are vulnerable either because of underlying medical problems or because they're not vaccinated. But it's also increasingly clear that omicron is less likely to inflict the same level of damage as the delta variant." But it's still sending people to the hospital, and it's infecting many more people (including those who already had COVID).

"Americans' paychecks continued to rise at the end of 2021. But along with that, so did prices… But, adjusted for rampant pandemic-era inflation, the salary increases don't look as shiny anymore. Inflation-adjusted wages and salaries fell by 1.9% for the 12 months ending in December." Can't win for losing.

"'Exposure is not an accepted form of currency at the bank,' she says. 'I mean, principally it's a mathematical problem. You can't pay your rent; you can't pay your phone bill; you can't get on the subway for exposure.'"

"From coast to coast, young Starbucks baristas are pushing to unionize their cafes, flexing their collective power against the coffee giant in a fight that could change the broader restaurant industry and its workforce." The kids are alright.

"A federal judge on Thursday invalidated a massive oil and gas lease sale for 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico after a coalition of environmental groups sued the Biden administration to stop it… The ruling cancels 1.7 million acres of oil and gas leases from that sale, according to data from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management."

"Some of the nurses and doctors at the biggest hospital in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region are having to beg for food to feed themselves, one of the medics has told the BBC… They have not been paid for eight months, forcing them to find other ways of supporting their families, he said."

"Now, the six men accused of carrying out one of the biggest jewel thefts in history are preparing to go on trial in Germany starting Friday, January 28. But the mystery of what happened to the treasures they are alleged to have stolen endures." The Green Vault heist.

"At least 10 people were injured when a snow-covered bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed early Friday, just hours before President Biden was due to visit the city to highlight his push for infrastructure improvement."

"A proposal aimed at limiting how various race-related concepts are discussed in classrooms and workplace training sessions received initial backing Wednesday in the House, inching forward Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push against critical race theory… The Republican-dominated House Judiciary Committee approved the bill (HB 7) in a 14-7 vote. In part, the proposal seeks to prevent workers or students from being subject to training or instruction that 'compels' them to believe a slew of ideas spelled out in the bill." Just conservatives trying to make sure nobody learns truthful history or engagement with the world they live in.

"A Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic novel about the Holocaust has been banned by a Tennessee school district, prompting blowback from critics who say it's essential to teach children about the genocide… The 10-member McMinn County School Board voted unanimously earlier this month to remove Maus from its curriculum and replace it with an alternative, which hadn't yet been decided at the time of the vote." It's just like the 80s all over again.

"'This is why people don't take these people seriously,' (Fox News commentator and conservative wonk Candice) Owens said. 'They're taking all of these things that nobody was offended by. It's like they have to get rid of them and destroy them because they're bored. You know, they're absolutely bored. They're trying to destroy fabrics of our society, pretending that there's issues.'" What heinous atrocity has the left committed now that is surely bringing apocalypse down upon us? Minnie Mouse is wearing a pantsuit. These fucking people.

"Lansdowne has a message for her senator, Joe Manchin, a Democrat whose strong opposition to extending the enhanced credit for another year was a leading cause of the Senate's failure to pass the party's sweeping spending package last month… 'Go speak to the working class and see how they feel,' she said. 'I will tell you, it helped a lot. And now I'm in a predicament where I can't work because there is no child tax credit to help me with day care.'" Manchin does give a shit.

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